Wildfires Put $65 Billion of California Homes at Risk

About 11,000 homes in Napa and Santa Rosa metropolitan areas at significant risk of damage

Flames from a wildfire consume a home east of Napa, Calif., on Monday.
Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press

Flames from a wildfire consume a home east of Napa, Calif., on Monday.

Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press

More than 172,000 homes in the Napa and Santa Rosa metropolitan areas are at risk from the wildfires raging in northern California, with an estimated cost to rebuild of $65 billion, according to a report released Tuesday.

Roughly 11,000 homes, worth a combined $5 billion, are at significant risk of damage, according to the analysis by data provider CoreLogic Inc.

The rest of the homes in the metro areas are only at low or moderate risk, but the fire can easily spread to and damage adjacent properties, according to the report.

Wildfires in northern California have killed at least 15 people in recent days and damaged large swaths of wine country, which is home to some of the country’s most valuable real estate. The median home value in the Napa and Santa Rosa metro areas is about $599,000, compared with $201,900 for the U.S. as a whole, according to listing website Zillow.

"California isn’t known for low property values anywhere," said Tom Jeffery, a senior hazard scientist at CoreLogic. "The homes that are going to be at the top end of that scale are the homes that are going to be built toward the edge, where you have the beautiful scenic view over wine country. Those are the most vulnerable."

The estimated reconstruction tally represents the cost to completely rebuild the home. Not all of the homes will be destroyed, meaning the actual cost to rebuild could be lower than the estimate.

DISCLAIMER: The currency conversion is provided for illustration purposes only. It is meant only as an approximation based on the latest information available and should not be relied upon for any other purposes. We are not responsible for any loss that you may incur as a result of relying on these currency conversions. All property prices are as stated by the listing agent.

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